Depression and Teens: A Guide for Parents

Depression and Teens:

A Guide for Parents

Causes and Symptoms Coping with Depression

Treatment Options How to Get Help for Your Teen

Having bad days once in a while is normal for teens, but what if your teen seems down in the dumps for a few weeks, or even a few months? If feelings of sadness or irritability won't go away, the cause might be depression. Depression is very common and can affect any person at any age, including teens. This guide is designed to help you recognize the signs of depression and help you find resources for your teen.

What is depression?

Depression affects feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and physical well-being. There may be feelings of sadness or irritability, a lack of energy, trouble sleeping, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, or unhappy thoughts about life. Depression may affect a person physically causing trouble sleeping, eating, or concentrating, or aches and pains such as headaches or stomachaches.

Who gets depressed?

Although we don't know the exact number of people who have depression, we do know that it affects children, teens, and adults of all ages and all ethnic and racial backgrounds. Of the teens who are depressed, about 1 in 20 will suffer from significant depression.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Teens with depression may:

feel sad or "empty" a lot of the time. These feelings may come and go, but last for at least two weeks.
not feel like doing things they used to enjoy, like playing sports, hanging out with friends, or studying.
feel easily irritated or get angry or lose their temper quickly.
feel tired or have less energy, or feel be restless and edgy.
experience changes in your eating habits. They may eat more or less than they did before they started feeling depressed.
experience changes in sleep, either sleeping a lot more or a lot less than before, and/or having trouble falling asleep or waking up.
find it harder to concentrate and make decisions.
have poor self-esteem.
often feel guilty about things that they do or don't do.
feel that things will never get better.
have thoughts about not wanting to live or about hurting themselves, or they may have tried to hurt themselves.

How do I know whether my teen is depressed or just sad?

It is normal to feel depressed or sad sometimes. However, if your teen has some or all of the above symptoms most of the time for two weeks or more, she could have depression. There are no laboratory tests that can be done to prove that someone is depressed, like there are for illnesses such as strep throat or diabetes. But if you think your teen may be depressed, it is important to talk with her health care provider. It may also be a good idea to consult a mental health provider about ways to help your teen.

What are the effects of depression?

Depression has many different and powerful effects on people who have depression and on the people around them.

Depression can:

make it harder to work at a job or in school.
make it more difficult to make and keep friends.
make it more difficult to get along with family members.
affect physical health. For example, a person with depression may feel tired or run down all the time.
make a teenager feel tempted to turn to alcohol, drugs, or sex as a way to escape from difficult feelings.
make your teen feel extremely irritable which can cause them to yell and argue.
cause difficulty paying attention, which can lead to car accidents and other serious mistakes.
lead to serious injury and even suicide if left untreated.

What causes depression?

No one knows for sure what causes depression. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is not your teenager's fault if she becomes depressed. Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of things, some of which have to do with the chemicals in the brain and some that have to do with life events. Sometimes depression can be the result of certain medical conditions such as anemia or a thyroid disorder. Other times, depression may be the consequence of dealing with a chronic health issue such as endometriosis or another medical problem that causes chronic pain or other debilitating symptoms. Some factors that may increase the risk for depression:

Genetics: If other people in the family have had a depressive illness, your teenager may have similar genes and be more likely to become depressed.
Family problems: A major loss in your family or conflict among members of your family may cause your teen to feel depressed.
Low self-esteem: If your teenager is constantly being criticized, abused, or neglected, or if she is having difficulty at school or other activities, she may be more likely to feel depressed.
Feeling alone: Some teens feel that they are different from others or that their friends and family don't understand them. This may be particularly true for teens who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual, who have just broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or teens who have a parent with a physical illness, mental illness, or a substance abuse problem.
Medical conditions: Medical conditions such as thyroid disorders, anemia, diabetes, or chronic disease or pain can result in depression. If there is a history of any significant medical condition in your family or daughter, be sure to tell her health care provider.

Your teen may not have any of these problems but still feel depressed.

Next: Treatment Options

Written by the Center for Young Women's Health Staff

Updated: 07/03/06

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Causes and Symptoms	Coping with Depression
Treatment Options	How to Get Help for Your Teen